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Friday, 10 August 2007

The Work Experience

Trips in flat, hugs the sofa and pats nice speedy computer.

I did it; I survived a whole week of work experience! I know how bad that sounds, but bear with me, I usually work from my little room via ‘you have mail’ and the bat-phone, so to be back in an office again is like, woah. I See Real People.

Being work experience, you do get given the dodgy computer (you know the sort of thing, you can make a cup of tea while waiting for I.E to open google), but they were a nice bunch of people from what I could see (team of eight, five talked to me, three blokes studiously avoided all eye contact).

I mainly subbed and edited freelancers work, and wrote a few reviews etc that may or may not make the grade in the October issue. And to my silent amusement, Chas and Dave and the Velvet Underground were part of two separate features I worked on, which if you read this post, might shed light on why I chuckled. All good stuff, and you never know what comes of it.

But now I am back, and itching to get on with the book. I made a surreptitious start inbetween subbing the world’s longest article, and am determined that I am going to get up at 7 every day and start working. No more lying in bed until 8.30, those bad old days are over. So I think the week really did wonders for my motivation.

And… (rubs chin thoughtfully), possibly renting space in an office might be an idea to consider in the future. I felt quite inspired today, managing to bang out the beginning pages of the novel when all last week I couldn’t even think of a good sentence to start it with. See, it is so important, that beginning. It can be the make or break. No one is going to care that there is a gorgeous twisty bit in chapter four if they never get beyond page one. But perhaps that can be a post for another day, as now I am going to have a much needed glass of wine and chill out!

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Jayne Ferst

In the 1970s a girl was born and sent to school for a crime she didn't commit. That girl finally escaped from a dull comprehensive into the lost artistic underground. Today, still wanted by her job, she survives as a writer of fortune. If you need a story, if no one else can help, and if you remember the A Team theme tune, maybe you can sing it with me.